The present invention relates to the field of processing mail. More specifically, the present invention relates to a workstation operable to process envelopes containing contents by presenting opened envelopes to an operator so the operator can extract the contents from the envelopes.
Automated and semi-automated machines have been employed for processing documents such as bulk mail. Due to the large quantity of mail received by many companies, there has long been a need for efficient sorting of incoming mail. Document sorting has become particularly important in the area of remittance processing.
Utility companies, phone companies, and credit card companies routinely receive thousands of payment envelopes from their customers on a daily basis. Typically, a customer payment envelope contains an invoice stub and some type of customer payment, usually in the form of a bank check or money order.
Frequently, the envelopes received in the incoming mail have varying characteristics. For instance, the height, length and thickness of the envelopes may vary. In addition, the opacity of the envelopes may vary significantly due to the differences between standard envelopes and privacy envelopes commonly used for financial documents.
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus and method are provided for processing mail that can accommodate a batch of mail containing envelopes having different characteristics.
A workstation is provided for processing a stack of mail including envelopes having contents. The envelopes are serially fed from an input bin into an envelope path. One or two of the edges of the envelopes are severed and the envelopes are presented to an operator who manually extracts the contents from the envelopes.
The workstation incorporates a feeder having a feed arm pivotal between first and second positions. During operation, the feed arm engages the lead envelope in the stack of envelopes and displaces the lead envelope transverse the stack of envelopes.
After the envelopes are fed into the envelope path, the top edge of each envelope is vertically adjusted. After the top edge is vertically adjusted, the top edge of each envelope is justified. A transport then conveys each envelope to an extractor. A drive mechanism is operable to vertically displace the transport.
The extractor includes two opposing extracting arms pivotal between an open position and a closed position. Each arm includes an engagement end for engaging an envelope. The extractor arms are maintained in the open position for a delay period, and the distance between the engagement ends of the extractor arms in the open position is variable.
The workstation is operable to automatically advance an envelope away from the extractor after the operator removes the contents from the envelope. In a preferred mode, the thickness of the envelope at the extractor is continuously detected. As envelopes in the stack of mail are processed, the thickness of each successive envelope is compared against a thickness standard based on the average thickness of the previous empty envelopes in the stack of mail. If the detected thickness is below a thickness threshold, the envelope is assumed to be empty and is transported away from the extractor.